Ons Café

Project Information

LOCKLINEEverywhere in the country local pubs are forced to close their doors, but de Kerckhaen survives. A film on the most important spot in Westbeemster.

“Last round at Nog Eendje”

“Bob en Jantien now really quit”

“Massive closure: the last round from Zealandisch cafés”

A selection of local and regional news shows us that the local pub is having a hard time in the Netherlands. In the past five years the amount of pubs has decreased by 4%, while the rest of the industry has only grown. How can this happen when the local pub is of such importance to a small community?

Also in Westbeemster local pub the Kerckhaen had been empty for a couple of years. The previous owners couldn't find a successor and the village lost their most important gathering place. In 2005 a group of villagers got together to save the building for the community; and they succeeded. In merely half a year they raised €700.000, half of which was donated by the villagers themselves, and so they could pay for the pub.

For the documentary Our Pub, filmmakers Hannah Grout and Dennis Jongeling follow manager Bart Bakker and the visitors through everything that takes place in de Kerckhaen; from the card association every thursday afternoon to a concert of a well know rock band. Bart serves his guests with love, but he also has doubts: not eveything he organises is very well attended and the older generation who forms the core of the village is slowly getting smaller. In the film Bart battles between his love for Westbeemster and his doubts about the pub.

How can you support us?

Almost everything has been shot and we are getting started with the editing. But to comletely finalize this film and to be able to distribute it, we need money. A composer and color corrector need to be financed, the gasoline bill that the little red car that we have been using for the last couple of months has created needs to be paid, the DVD's have to be developed and we want to subscribe to national and international filmfestivals.

Through this documentary we want to show you how this village protects its pub and why it is so important for a small community like Westbeemster to have a place like de Kerckhaen in its midst.

If you want to know more about what we are up to right now, you can visit this page: https://www.facebook.com/documentaireonscafe/

Quote that inspired the maker

"You can really do anything here, it's a lifecycle building."

Nico de Lange - Westbeemsterling

Cast & crew

About the makers

Dennis Jongeling and Hannah Grout did their first project together during their first year of the School for Journalism. Now that they're in the final phase, it is time for a bigger project: a first documentary. In their own favorite pub in Utrecht, the idea was born to make a film about a local pub in a small village.

Our Pub will be premiering at the CampusDoc International Filmfestival on June 16 & 17 2018 in the Louis Hartlooper Complex in Utrecht.